Music collective comes together

On Stage

"As a whole, I didn't feel that Athens was getting the proper recognition for the kind of professional musicians that lived here and worked out of here. I thought we needed a united front."

That notion soon coalesced into the Athens Music Collective, a broad assembly of musicians and industry players who want to raise the profile of the local music scene to even greater levels.

"I feel like we have as much potential to be a working music town like Nashville or New Orleans, where the musicians can actually make a living in the town they live in."

Taffet and his wife also came across a maxim that rang true with them regarding music scenes. They read in a book that individual bands have a better shot of getting the recognition they're seeking when they are viewed as having a strong connection to a vibrant musical arena.

"If you look back to Haight- Ashbury and look how (rock impresario) Bill Graham united all those bands, or Sub Pop ... or even going back to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis and Memphis. ... If we identify ourselves as a region, all these individual bands will have a much greater chance of success."

Taffet, who is a member of the band LIONZ, has been shaping the Athens Music Collective over the past six months and only recently unveiled the project to the public. And while the long-term goals of the AMC continue to come into focus, its coming-out party is set for Friday at the 40 Watt. Bands like The Burning Angels, The Woodgrains, Mad Whiskey Grin, The Circus Peanuts, Betsy Franck & The Bare Knuckle Band and more will participate in a round-robin showcasing the interplay, depth and connectivity shared by this wide array of talent.

"The first band will play, and then their members will clear off the stage except for whoever also happens to play in the next band. It's a constant rotation of musicians, highlighting each band's original two songs at a time."

All proceeds from the door will go to support GoARTS!, a local outfit that empowers underserved local children with education and opportunities in the arts. An autographed R.E.M. guitar will be raffled off live on stage courtesy of Classic City Promotions to benefit local school programs and GoARTS!

Beyond live events, Taffet also hopes the Athens Music Collective will be able to put together a CD.

"We're already ranked No. 2 on the Reverb Nation charts for Athens, so we'd like to put out a CD highlighting some of the bands. But I'd also like to see about setting up showcases where we bring actual record labels here."

And far from being an insular unit, Taffet maintains that the AMC will be reaching out actively to other organizations in Athens to figure out the best route to building further permanence in the community.

"We want to get all the different players in this town to sit down at the table together and figure out what our next step can be as a united city. There's already talk about doing another big festival that might be more in line with Austin City Limits. We're running around with a lot of different ideas, but we want to facilitate all the organizations that we can to get involved and work as a group."

It's a tall task to be sure, but Taffet feels all the momentum for this effort to succeed is there and ready to be tapped.

"We're trying not to lose our focus of highlighting the bands and the musicians. You always want to remind people of what's here."